Fears over returning jihadis as Briton who came back to UK is suspected al-Qaeda chief

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A BRITON who was welcomed home after allegedly being trained as a terrorist in Syria has been accused of being a leading member of al-Qaeda, sparking fears over returning jihadis.

Samiun Rahman, a minicab controller from London, said he was travelling between the UK and the Middle East for aid work. But the 28-year-old is now awaiting trial in India over terrorism offences. Indian authorities claim Rahman, who was using a false identity when he was caught, was ordered by the leader of al-Qaeda in Syria to set up a terror cell in Delhi to carry out attacks and recruit other jihadis.

He has also been accused of links to terrorists in Africa, The Times reported.

Rahman is believed to be the highest-ranking British member of the feared terror group.

He was radicalised when he was serving an 18-month prison sentence in the UK for an unrelated offence.

Rahman headed to Syria in 2014, where he is said to have trained with an al-Qaeda group.

On his return to Britain, Rahman was questioned by police at the airport before being released without charge.

The next year, he went back to Syria before travelling with his UK passport to Bangladesh, where he was locked up for three years for sending fighters to Syria.

When he was released in 2017 Rahman made his next stop in India, allegedly to set up a terror cell before being captured by authorities.

It comes as an estimated 400 British jihadis have returned home from Syria and Iraq following the defeat of ISIS.

However, only around 40 have so far been prosecuted, sparking fears war-hardened extremists are free to roam the streets.

Debate is raging over whether Britons who fled to join ISIS should be allowed back after runaway schoolgirl Shamima Begum surfaced in a Syrian refugee camp last month.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid is facing a backlash for stripping the ISIS bride of her citizenship following the death of her newborn son in the camp.

But two more jihadi brides also being held in camps with their children have reportedly been deprived of their British citizenship.